The Delhi woman who crashed her speeding Maruti Swift car into five labourers, killing two of them, on National Highway-1 in Gharaunda near Karnal on Wednesday was also booked for drunken driving in Panipat in September this year.

Accused Preeti Sitting in her car and damaged car on the highway.(HT File Photo)

The Delhi woman who crashed her speeding Maruti Swift car into five labourers, killing two of them, on National Highway-1 in Gharaunda near Karnal on Wednesday was also booked for drunken driving in Panipat in September this year.

The medical examination of Preeti Bhardwaj, 36, confirmed she was under the influence of liquor at the time of the Wednesday mishap as well, said Gharaunda police station in-charge Rajbir Singh on Thursday.

“On checking her past crime record, we found Preeti had been booked by the Panipat police in September under Section 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 68, 1, 14 of the Excise Act for consuming liquor in a public place in Samalkha town of Panipat district,” he said.

According to sources in the Samalkha police station, a first information report (FIR) was registered against Preeti on September 11 after she was found driving while drunk and creating ruckus at a public place.

Meanwhile, Preeti was produced in court on Thursday, from where she was sent to 14-day judicial custody, said the Gharaunda police station in-charge.

Rajbir Singh said her parents told the police that she was upset after a quarrel with her husband. Her husband, however, has not reached the police station yet, he said.

The Karnal police had booked Preeti under Sections 279 (rash driving), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC after the accident on Wednesday.

A resident of Rohini in Delhi, Preeti was on her way to Kaithal to visit a relative when the accident took place. Raj Kumar and Bansi Lal of Karnal’s Staundi village died on the spot while Mamuram, Bir Singh and Inder Kumar received serious injuries and were rushed to the civil hospital. The labourers were cleaning the roadside and had been hired by a contractor for maintenance by the National Highways Authority of India. Preeti tried to flee but was chased by locals for about a kilometre.